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There's just something about it that is making it hard to enjoy. I don't find myself picking it up or feeling engaged in it.

Could be the characters...but not sure.
The plot didn't quite pull me in either.

Mmm I don't think middle school or high school me would have picked this book up and enjoyed it either.

There are many things that don't quite make sense in Northern Heights. How a purple bunny doesn't make Terra's father question it much. The reaction is "Oh how interesting, we should run some test's on it". Doesn't seem realistic. The Golem names are so ridiculous and on the nose like Rocky... or wait for it... Gaia.... or Eartha... or Brick... or Clay or even Flint. I get it for the main character but for all the Golems? Author could have dug deeper (pun fully intended).

The amount of times these teens in Northern heights can eat pastries.. should be a tad worrisome, but at least Terra counteracts the pastries with carrots right?

The whole disappearing act for 3 days and then for 5 day's with no contact got tiresome with Thorne, bro it's the 21st century pick up the phone and type a sentence out. Along with the almost instantaneous forgiveness that Terra gives him bothers me.

I am ALL for a soft female main character but this is almost cotton candy wispy. As in barely any personality other than being THE ultimate shiny star. Helpful, loving, sweet, caring, hates breaking the rules, hates sneaking out etc... UGH please give something to mar the shine on this character. It's too blinding.

The way her golem form is written as well struck me odd and maybe a little gross. Not all the time but certain scenes like trying to sneak into the high-school and the mop and bucket scene. Maybe I just couldn't connect what has happening. I definitely thought of that hospital scene in Stranger Things Season 3. If you know, you know..

I would think this book set in a different time period would have made it more interesting. Were there are no cell phones so it solves at least one problem. I think the modern day timeline was used for easy filler. Highschool, dances, senior projects etc.

What the author did do a good job of were the parts involving magic. Her use of colors to describe different strands, descriptions of how Thorne used magic were all very well written.

I just think she had to add grit to Terra (pun again fully intended), maybe rethink the time period and it would have been a solid read.

The world of magic in this book was unlike many fantasy books I’ve read and I liked how unique it was. The relationship between main characters in the book was odd and he is constantly aggressive in the beginning. Overall it was a just OK book and it just wasn’t my type of book.

4.5/5 stars

A fiercely original YA fantasy that had me screaming, crying, and wanting to hug a mud girl. Woven from magic, yes—but also heart, grit, and quiet rage.

Woven From Clay is that rare gem of a book: fresh concept, rich worldbuilding, and a heroine you can't help but root for even when everything in her life is literally crumbling (yes, pun intended).

🪨 Meet Terra Slater: She's your average senior—funny, loyal, determined to thrive—until broody, suspiciously hot Thorne Wilder rolls into town with “goth wizard danger” energy and drops the kind of truth bomb that would ruin anyone’s vibe. Terra isn’t just adopted. She’s not even human. She’s a GOLEM. Like, handmade from mud and run on ancient warlock magic. Suddenly she’s not just worried about grades—she’s worried about disintegration.

🎯 Plot rundown:
Cyrus Quill, the warlock who made her? On the run.
The coven hunting him? They wanna kill him, which = Terra (and her golem friends) ceasing to exist.
The plan? Master the deep magic within her, prove to the coven she’s worth keeping alive, and try not to fall for the boy who was literally sent to destroy her.

✨ What slayed:
✅ The concept. Magical golems? A girl made of clay trying to define her own humanity? It’s so emotionally loaded and so beautifully handled.
✅ Thorne + Terra. Hate-to-allies-to-trust-to-something-more. Slow burn. Mutual respect. No toxic nonsense. GIVE IT TO ME.
✅ The magic system. It’s subtle but so cool. Terra learning to sense the tapestry of magic around her is beautifully visual and metaphorical.
✅ Found family & ethics. This isn’t just a fantasy quest—it’s about identity, consent, creation vs. autonomy, and what makes someone real.
✅ The stakes. Genuinely high. Emotional, magical, mortal. Terra’s not saving the world—she’s fighting to exist.

🕳️ A few cracks in the clay:
There’s a LOT of info about covens, laws, and magic politics early on—it takes a sec to get grounded.
A couple side characters (cough the coven elders) felt like magical plot devices rather than full people.
I would have loved a little more time with Terra’s golem “siblings.” There’s so much potential there!

🧙‍♀️ Final thoughts:
Woven From Clay is magical realism for the fantasy reader who craves more than just wands and world-saving. It’s about what it means to be alive, and how much agency you have when your very existence is someone else’s spell. Jenny Birch writes with heart, urgency, and lush imagination. Terra is fierce, flawed, and unforgettable.

Highly recommend for YA readers looking for a standalone (or duology? 👀) with real stakes, real heart, and a story you’ve never read before.

Perfect for fans of:
🪄 Margaret Rogerson's Vespertine
🌙 Brigid Kemmerer's Defy the Night
🧱 Clay + chaos + forbidden magic aesthetics
💀 Anyone who loved the question: “Am I real, or just made to feel real?”

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I will never look at wet dirt the same way again. 🖤

For a book about Golems, I expected a bit more ties back to Judaism. This book was incredibly juvenile and painfully YA. Id say probably best for ages 12-14. I found it very hard to connect to the characters, or to love them. Terra was unforgettable at best, and boring at worst. I just was not fond of this book at all, and came close to dnfing several times.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I'm DNFing at 55% in. I really tried. I didn't want to have to DNF another book, but this is just too reminiscent of early 2000s YA urban fantasy/paranormal romance with barely a plot, I'm not like the other girls (literally and figuratively), and chasing after the boy that is standoffish/mean. The premise of this book sounded very interesting as you do not see many books today talk about golemns, unfortunately the execution is just lacking in anything entertaining. The characters are quite dull with no personality. There also didn't seem to be any major purpose for her powers. Maybe it is explained more later on, but at this point I just can't care. Give it a try as you may like it if you're interested, but it's a no for me.

It took a long time for me to finally give in and read this. I was worried it wouldn’t be good. While it wasn’t perfect, it turned out to be an enjoyable read.

I liked Terra and Thorne, and I found the magic to be very interesting. A lot of time was spent explaining how Terra tried to figure out her powers, but it wasn’t bad to read. I kinda wish she would have leaned on her friends more rather than trying to take the entire burden of her own existence and that of the other gollum’s on her shoulders. While it was great that she had Thorne, and their little romance subplot was nice, I thought Terra would have benefited from some help from the people she loved and was trying to save.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable read.

Title: Woven From Clay
Author: Jenny Birch
Genre: YA, fantasy
Rating: 4 out of 5

Terra Slater might not know anything about her birth family or where she comes from, but that’s never stopped her, and she fully intends her senior year to be her best yet. Until the dark and mysterious Thorne Wilder―a magical bounty hunter―moves to town, bringing revelations that wreck all of her plans.

When Terra learns she is a golem, not born but crafted from mud and magic by a warlock, her world is upended. Worse, Cyrus Quill, the warlock who made her, is a fugitive, on the run from the witches who want to hold him accountable for his past crimes. But Quill’s sentence is death, which would unravel the threads of magic that hold Terra―and all of the other golems that he crafted―together.

Desperate to save herself and her friends, Terra strikes a deal with Thorne and his coven to preserve the warlock’s life and his magic. If she can prove her worth to the coven by mastering the magic within her, the golems will survive. If she can’t, they’ll perish along with Cyrus. As Thorne helps her to see and manipulate the tapestry of magic that surrounds them, their unexpected alliance evolves into something more and Terra comes to understand the depths of her magic, her humanity, and her love for the people most important to her.

I thought this was a unique concept, and I enjoyed it! I don’t think I’ve ever read anything where the protagonist is a golem and I enjoyed the worldbuilding here—and how Terra didn’t have a clue she wasn’t human. The way she physically melted/fell apart under stress was a great manifestation of how most of us feel on the regular. This was a bit of an enemies-to-lovers read, mixed up with magic and mythology, and it was a fun read.

Jenny Birch is from Pittsburgh. Woven from Clay is her new novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin's Press | Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 8/9.)

The premise of this book felt fresh and fun. From the first chapter, I was hooked! The writing and plot very strongly reminded me of a Holly Black book, which was certainly a plus. Although I loved the magic and worldbuilding of this book, I felt that the characters and their relationships with one another fell flat. Most of the characters got on my nerves at some point and none felt like they were well-rounded, instead fitting into exhausted and expectable archetypes.

The only thing that I really disliked about this book was the subplot of Brick and Terra's relationship, which made me feel uncomfortable and angry. It's established in the book that Terra has rejected Brick several times, but he still goes out of his way to ask her out again and again to her discomfort. The scene where she's trying to escape from the hallway as he makes his way to ask her out with flowers felt more like it belonged in a horror story than a YA book. I would have been okay with this if it was written as what it was– off-putting and harassive– but it felt like Brick was treated more like he was the victim when Terra turned him down, meanwhile he had crossed her boundaries and refused to listen to her when she told him that she was not interested. I didn't appreciate it at all how Terra was treated like she was in the wrong for this by everyone– including herself. It was increasingly frustrating to read about how Brick apparently got his heart broken by a girl he was told several times wasn't interested in him, and it honestly did make me want to stop reading a bit. I don't think it's constructive to push this sort of message that a girl is in the wrong for not reciprocating someone else's feelings– especially when that someone has disrespected hers several times like Brick had to Terra. I was very glad that this subplot took a backseat in the last part of the book.

Woven From Clay is an interesting take on magic and golems, weaving in high school/teenage dynamics and drama seamlessly. Terra is beginning her senior year of high school when new kid Thorne gives her a reality check - that she's not just an adopted girl but like every other child in town that was adopted, she's actually a golem created by a powerful warlock... and Thorne is there to bring the warlock to justice which will result in all of his creatures disappearing for good. Birch wove together all the teenage emotions while Terra processes her new reality and what that could mean for those around her, and I loved her determination the most. I definitely appreciated the ending and how it could leave the door open for another Terra and Thorne adventure!
Thanks, St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books, for the arc!

This YA book follows Terra who is navigating her senior year of high school in her small town. Only, she finds out that her and many other adopted kids in town are not really human, but golems. So Terra and her friends must use their own magic to help save themselves before a council has them destroyed. This had good readability, but I found it to be a little young for me. While it is labeled YA, I thought it didn't have the depth I look for in my reads typically.

While the writing itself wasn’t terrible, I couldn’t connect with this book. It felt verrrrrry YA, maybe perfect for the 13-16 age range. Terra wasn’t a bad character, but I also couldn’t connect with her. Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the eARC.

A slow starting, but amazing modern magical fantasy about what makes us human and finding our power. I want more!

Books about Jewish folklore always warm my heart and remind me of my Litvak grandfather's bedtimes stories. I've loved the concept of Golem's ever since reading The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker, and the concept was similarly well-explored here. While the folklore was well-researched and thoughtfully integrated, the rest of the story didn't live up to my expectations. These days, romantic love triangles in fantasy are almost an instant turn-off for me, and I thought the heavy focus on this tiring dynamic took page space away from what was actually a very interesting plot and magic system. Another example and an over-reliance on popular tropes sinking a story with genuinely interesting original material.

This was a heartwarming story about Terra, who is adopted and at times feels she doesn’t fully belong. Even though she is surrounded by family and friends that love and support her, and she is very successful in her High School endeavour's, she still feels lost. After discovering who she really is and then faced with the possibility of her and others’ being unraveled, she does all she can to fight for her right to exist against those who believe that she doesn’t belong. Great message of resiliency, what it means to be human (the good, bad, and ugly) and how expansive the definition of family is. The fantasy element was okay, simple. It was the basis for the character’s story/ journey. I think the core of the story was about discovering who you are, your purpose, and proving to yourself that you are worthy of existence and love.

I was so excited to read this book. I love a story about witches and it was a fun twist to see the main character was actually not the witch in question.

The story was just ok. The premise laid out in the synopsis really wasn’t the focus for most of the book which was confusing but overall, it was an ok story.

I had some issues with the writing as well as the naming conventions. All of the golems were names after very obvious “earth” references and it felt silly.

Similarly, the writing itself was clunky. It needs more editing or a good read out loud to really hear how the dialogue in particular could use some tweaks.

Lastly, I know it’s fiction, but the logistics of the world didn’t really hold. The golems clearly age but what are they supposed to do after the story ends? Most of them don’t know what they are. Can they also harness magic?

The story seems to ask the question if the golems are “human” but kind of fails to answer it with actual logistics. Terra and friends are definitely human in the sense that they have feelings, hopes, dreams, etc. but the problem I had is that they are only human when it’s convenient for the writing.

As I mentioned above, I liked this but I think the story and writing need work. It’s a cool concept but the execution was not there for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Woven From Clay by Jennifer Birch is a tender, introspective debut that beautifully explores healing, heritage, and the quiet strength found in everyday life. With lyrical prose and heartfelt characters, Birch crafts a story that lingers like a whispered truth passed down through generations. A gentle yet powerful read.

This had that fantasy romance element that I was looking for and was invested in what was happening. The golem element worked well overall and was glad it was so well done, and engaging from the story, I really felt for Terra in this story and was so well done. The characters had that overall feel worked in the fantasy element that I was wanting. I was glad I was able to read this and loved the way Jennifer Birch wrote this.

This was sooo interesting!!!! I mean, a mc who discovers she isn't born but made of mud and magic?! WHOA, how cool! I was very excited to read it! In fact, I think that the worldbuilding with the golems was the best part of the book!
- I liked Thorne and Terra in a sort of nostalgic kind of way. He's the broody handsome guy, she is the girl who discovers things about her. They make an agreement neither really wants and fall in love. Look, I get it, it's not groundbreaking, but what can I say? I liked it!
- The pacing was a bit off, though. We spent too long on setting things up and for Terra discovering she is a golem.
- The part with the witches was a tad confusing, too. What exactly was their purpose?

Overall, this is a lovely contemporary fantasy with unexpected creatures (GOLEMS!) that reminds you of early 2000s fantasy. I'd read another book in this universe.

I received a copy through NetGalley and the publisher, thank you for the approval!

This one was pretty solid, it does however read less YA and more like a Teen or Middle Grade book.
Even though the main character was a High School student, there was nothing stronger romantically than teen love professions and kissing.

Terra is a senior, who seems like a pretty great well rounded kid, with a good ethic and is pretty happy with her adopted parents and trying to let her best friend know that despite his feelings she sees him more as a brother and is looking for a way to let him down gently.

She lives in a non descript small town where many of the children were adopted by families who really wanted kids, a community figure Mr. Quill helped facilitate those adoptions

Turns out Mr. Quill is a bit more than the polite, quiet older man the community loves and respects- he’s a warlock who’s wanted for crimes and Terra and her friends who he helped get adopted aren’t really human. They’re actually very well crafted golems, constructed from mud and magic.
But here’s the thing, they don’t function like any golems the witch council has ever seen and Terra may be a golem, but she has her own magic but she’s running out of time to save herself and her friends from being unmade.

While I personally found it a tad more juvenile than my usual reads, it was pretty solid. A good mix of light petty teenage drama, character grown and development, unlearning magical and personal biases, taking ownership of themselves and finding out hidden secrets and than everything is not as it seems.
It’s got a nice resolution and happy ending.